Cup supporting and covering saucer



Oct. 23,1928.

B. F. SMITH ..CUP SUPPORTING AND COVERING SAUCER Filed June 21, 1927 Patented Oct. 23, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN F. SMITH, 0F CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF T0 CHARLES A. HOLT, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

CUP SUPPORTING AND COVERING SAUCER.

Application filed June 21,

This invention is embodied in a saucer adapted for use with a cup whlch has a mouth of relatively large diameter and a bottom of smaller diameter bounded by an annular outwardly facing shoulder, a cup thus characterized being in common use as an article of table crockery.

The object of the invention is to provide a saucer which may either support or cover the cup and is adapted, when supporting the cup, to maintain the latter in a central position without liability of sliding sidewise on the saucer, and is .further adapted, when covering the cup, to be maintained by the mouth thereof in a central position without liability of sliding edgewise on the cup.

Of the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a top plan view showing a saucer embodying the invention in use as a cover of a cup, the mouth of the latter being shown by dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Figure 1, the saucer being shown by dotted lines in position to support the cup.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the figures.

The cup 12 is of ordinary general form, its mouth being of considerably greater diameter than its bottom which is bounded by an annular outwardly facing shoulder 13.

The saucer 14 is of greater diameter than the mouth of the cup and is provided on its upper side with an inwardly facing annular shoulder 15 formed to abut the shoulder 13 bounding the cup bottom, so that the cup is centrally confined on the saucer when the latter is used to support the cup, the height of the shoulder being sufiicient to prevent the cup from sliding sidewise on the saucer. The saucer is provided on its lower side with an outwardly facing annular shoulder 16 formed to enter the mouth of the cup and cooperate therewith in centrally confining the saucer on the cup when the saucer is used as a cover, the shoulder 16 somewhat closely fitting the inner surface of the cup mouth so that edgewise slipping of the saucer on the cup is prevented.

The shoulder 16 is narrow and has a 1927. Serial N0. 200,381.

limited projection into the cup. The shoulder 15 has a. correspondingly limited projection into the cup so that the lower side of the saucer is free from liability to contact with liquid in the cup.

The shoulder 15 may constitute the margin of a shallow central depression 17 in the upper side of the saucer and may be inclined downwardly from an annular raised portion 18 on said upper side. The shoulder '16 may be the outer side of an annular grooved portion.

The strength of the saucer is increased by the formation last described, the portions 15 and 18 and the inner side of the groove 19 forming an annular strengthening ridge surrounding the portion 17.

I claim:

1. For use with a cup having a mouth of relatively large diameter and a bottom of smaller diameter bounded by an outwardly facing annular shoulder; a saucer adapted to either support or cover the cup, the saucer bein of greater diameterthan the mouth of t e cup and provided on its upper side with an inwardly facing annular imier shoulder ofrelatively small diameter formed to cooperate with the bottom shoulder of the cup in centrally confining the cup on the saucer, and on its lower side with an outwardly facing annular continuous outer shoulder of larger diameter than the inner shoulder and spaced outwardly therefrom, and formed to enter the mouth of the cup and cooperate therewith in centrally confining the saucer on the cup when the saucer is used as a cover.

2. A saucer, as specified by claim 1, the inwardly facing inner shoulder forming the margin of a depressed central portion of the saucer bottom, while the outwardly facing outer shoulder forms the outer side of an annular groove, the inner side of said groove and the inwardly facing shoulder forming portions of an annular strengthening ridge.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

BENJAMIN F. SMITH. 

